A TYPO OF WALK IN ATHENS
MODERNOLOGY AND ARCHEOLOGY
08.04.2018 TO 12.04.2018
As the beginning of western civilization, ancient Greek has a great impact on Latin. How is the Greek typeface changed nowadays? How do they apply in daily life? What is the point of view of type designers of Greek design? With a collection of pictures both from streets and museum, as well as the interview from Typeroom, I produced this zine about the Greek typeface from my observation. It splits into two parts. The first part is the Modernologio, which gathering all the pictures of the typeface I took during daily life in the 5-day study trip. The second part is Archeology from Epigraphic Museum. The Epigraphical Museum is unique in Greece and the largest of its kind in the world. It safeguards 13,510, mostly Greek, inscriptions, which cover the period from early historical times to the Late Roman period, primarily in Greece. About the graphic design of this zine. The prismatic of the Greek column my initial inpression of greek before going to there. Also, as the carrier of most of the ancient Greek font by archeology.The column plays an important role in Greek history. In grid of the layout, i use two columns,to represent the two part of the zine,which are the Archaeology and Modernology. Furthermore, blue as the only color of the Greek national falg by defalt is the sign color of Greek.The title on the cover inspired by the font i found on the street, by using splice the English font to represent Greek words.
DAY 1 - 5
INTRODUCTION
The first day we arrive in Athens at afternoon. So i took a random walk around the neiborhood near by the hostel. By the first glace on the street in Athens. Trying to figure out Greek style design, i found some interesting typeface of the shop sign.
DAY 1
MODERNOLOGY
Day 2 i visited Typical Organization Studio and had a walk in the squat area Exarchia. There are mostly graffiti and banners everywhere on the street. When i was there i can feel the screaming from the city itself although i don’t understand the language. Most of the really cool stuff is on the small streets around the square. At first passing it just looks like a confusing mess of shops, posters, graffiti and weird people but that is all part of being in a strange place for the first time and not feeling comfortable. If you wander around you will certainly find something that interests you, maybe something that you thought would not interest anyone but you.
DAY 2
MODERNOLOGY
9 - 10
It was a busy day, i visited Parachute Studio and the First Cemetery of Athens with guided by Linda Theodorou.
Map of Athens First Cemetery: http://www.agelastos. com/
DAY 3
MODERNOLOGY
The First cemetery of Athens: Fables of Identity. But there is a dark underside to all that glorious marble and beautiful foliage and it is this: in Greece today, many of the dead do not stay buried for long‌ Greeks often use the word Nekrotafio (meaning the burial of the dead) for cemeteries, although the word koimiterio from which our word cemetery is derived, is more apt, expressing the Christian idea more clearly. It means a sleeping place. The Orthodox dead are not quite dead. Their souls do not go to Purgatory like the Catholics. Purgatory is not in the Orthodox lexicon; their actual status after death is somewhat mysterious, like so many concepts in Orthodoxy. There is, however, the idea that the dead can be affected by our prayers and certainly our prayers for the dead can even affect to some extent their ultimate fate when judgment day finally arrives. In this sense, those buried are connected with the living and the Church until the Second Coming (Parousia) when their bodies will be reunited with their souls in heaven. For this reason, many ceremonies are held at the grave sites of the dead during the first year and usually on the anniversary of the death thereafter. Text from Linda Theodorou: http://churchesingreece. blogspot.com/
DAY 3
MODERNOLOGY
The greek alphabet needs special attention. If you start designing based on your own design decisions, the outcome will not be as well received by the Greek market as you would aspect. You have to know a few details that makes the alphabet better. So you first have to know the Greek language and the Greek characters. All the time we are trying to match the visual appearance of the other scripts like latin without losing the characteristics of the specific Greek language and this is what you try to do with other languages as well. But Greek is a very special case. We talk about three different challenges within the Greek alphabet. Firstly there are a lot more round shapes in the Greek alphabet than the Latin. The second challenge are the descenders for the Greek alphabet there is a total of 10 greek letters with descenders and for Latin there are five. Automatically that makes Latin easier to read. Why? We don’t read letter by letter but words or parts. The Greek alphabet is not as developed as the Latin alphabet because while the Latin alphabet was developed during renaissance. The Greek alphabet was standard because of the Ottoman occupation. As a designer you don’t always start from scratch. The mind is like a parachute, it works best when it’s open. As a typeface designer you can have a strong impact on how a brand is received. During the creative process designers try to use shapes from their environment to associate a particular time with the typeface. We think typography is not just for the printed page or for a screen. We think typography applies everywhere. It is everywhere around in our homes, on the streets and during our work. That is why we put typography on our walls and in our space. It is a way to show people that typography is vital part of design, architecture and society. Let’s talk about emotions. Since emotional
type design is part of my work. I try to use the right elements in my design in order to be able to evoke some emotions. It is possible to transmit messages through type by using forms and shapes. You know Frederic Goudy, Goudy is one of the great designers of the past. He claimed that you can not reasonably expect any striking differences among readable typefaces unless they have a bizarre shape. At the same time Charles Eames said that the details make the product. So if the shape of a letter, its skeleton is the same the only way you can make one typeface different from the other is if we apply that minor detail which will make one different from the other. Typography is vital part of branding, brand identity and communication. What I mean is that type is a vital part of design and typography gives value to design and to your brand identity. Most successful brands will have a emotional connection with their clients. It is documented that the most successful brands build emotional relationship with their clients. Quates selected from the interview with Parachute Studio, 11.04.2018
DAY 3
MODERNOLOGY
Today, thanks to Entos Stoas by Natassa Pappa, which maps the exits of the stoas (gallery walkways) located in the commercial triangle of Athens, a chaotic district ideal for inquisitive strolls. The project uses as starting points the exit signs on some of the remaining passage entrances, which reveal an alternative walking network away from traffic, a surreal detail often overlooked. I discovered a lot of hidden places in her walking tour. And some interesting usage of the masses who don’t have professional design education. How did they design their shop sign? Where are all the artists and designers live? Where do all these arrows on the street direct to? Is print still alive in Athens? How is the craftsmen status nowadays in Athens?
DAY 4
MODERNOLOGY
The last day of the trip, i visited the Epigraphic Museum. The staff there gave me a form of Greek alphabet into English. The Epigraphic Museum is unique in Greece and the largest of its kind in the world. It safeguards 14,078, mostly Greek, inscriptions, which cover the period from early historical times to the Late Roman period, primarily in Greece. The museum is housed in the south wing ground floor of the National Archaeological Museum. It comprises an internal and external courtyard (atrium), a lobby, eleven rooms, a large hypostyle Pi-shaped corridor, a gallery, offices, a laboratory for the conservation of inscribed stone monuments and lavatories. Only the courtyards, lobby and four rooms are open to the public; the other premisces are accessible only to researchers and staff. The purpose of the museum is the scientific research, study, registration, protection, preservation, publication, photographic documentation and promotion of the ancient Greek inscriptions. The museum also aims to comprise photographic and impression archives and a specialized epigraphic library. Moreover, a digital catalogue of the inscriptions has been constructed. The Museum organises temporary exhibitions of ancient Greek inscriptions, as well as exhibitions of art inspired by the Greek script and the ancient inscriptions. Discription and map from Š 2012 Ministry of Culture and Sports All Rights Reserved
DAY 5
ARCHEOLOGY
TYPEFACE
gc16 by Bold Decision Atlas Grotesk
DESIGN
Xi Ruolan
EDITOR
Xi Ruolan
Onomatopee Einbhvon
THANKS
Akv St.Joost Master Institute, Graphic design Department
TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY COPYRIGHT © XI RUOLAN 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.